COMPLIMENTARY COPY
Celebrating Forty Years Of O-Gauge Train Collecting
AAN Current News
Blum’s Auction House To Hold Silent Auction For McCloy Collection FRIDAY AUGUST 4, 2017 • VOL. 48, NO. 31
1963 Porsche Drives Prices Skyward At Briggs Red 356B 1600 Coupe Brought $76,260 Briggs Auction Inc.’s Fine Estate Auction on June 9 included an eclectic mix of fine estate merchandise that saw strong bidding and equally strong prices, but the standout lot of the night for everyone was the sleek, red The sleek, red 1963 Porsche 356B 1600 coupe sold for $76,260. Porsche 356B 1600 coupe that stole the evening. With more than 12 telephones and several eager bidders in house and online, bidding was brisk, competitive and exciting. The final price was $76,260. All prices include buyer’s premium. The well-maintained, singleowner Porsche was just one of the 360 lots offered in the auction and reflected the overall tenor of the evening’s fine assemblage of antique, modern, traditional, and other interesting items, which included fine and decorative arts, estate fine jewelry, estate carpets, antique and name-brand reproduction furnishings, and much more from selected Main Line, Pa., and Delaware Valley estates, This moody Gayle Porter Hoskins oil-on-canvas homes, and collections. illustration had commanded pre-sale buzz and “The Porsche was fantastic,” was one of seven Hoskins in the auction, which admited John Turner, president of collectively realized $17,051. Briggs Auction Inc. “But the entire auction was filled with other stand- of included seven original oils on out items in their own way. From the canvas by renowned illustrator fine collection of illustrations to Gayle Porter Hoskins; a 20th centumore traditional furnishings, fine ry portrait illustration, “Female jewelry, and fine art, prices exceed- Fencer,” by Alfred J. Cammarata; ed expectations, and we couldn’t be and a more modern piece by Gustaf more pleased with the response Tenggren, all realizing remarkable sales. The seven Hoskins came from this auction generated.” The illustrations Turner spoke a Wilmington, Del., estate, and achieved a total of $17,051. The collection featured two that had been exhibited in the Delaware Art Museum in the early 1970s and were an interesting mix of genres, from a mysterious city street scene to a peasant boy with draft horses in a field, a courting couple seated under a tree, a couple walking along a train platform, and two interesting interior crowd scenes in a pub and a church. The Alfred J. Cammarata oil-oncanvas portrait titled Fencer” A whimsical zoo scene gouache illustration by Gustaf Tenggren “Female sold for $28,320. Continued on page 2
Shawn McCloy of Robesonia, Pa., was an avid Lionel train collector who began train collecting at age 8. As a gift, his first item was a helicopter car. That car instantly became his favorite possession until his uncle accidentally broke it. It would be many years until McCloy could afford to buy another train car. After getting married, McCloy decided it was time to purchase his first “new” train set, the “Blue Comet.” As an active member of the Train Collectors Association (TCA), he built a massive O-gauge collection by attending train meets in Hamburg, Allentown, New Holland, and York. Many of his rare and unique pieces came from those group meets. He bought hundreds of O-Gauge engines, cars, and props, many that are high-end steam and diesel engines and tenders. The collection also includes a variety of
Armenian Atlas Reaches $37,500 At Swann Galleries’ Antiquarian Maps Sale on page 2
transformers, including what were his two favorite “ZW Transformers.” Many of the items remain in their original boxes. His passion for trains stayed with him his entire life. Besides being a collector, McCloy was skilled at train repair and restoration. This lifelong collection of prewar to modern trains, train sets, and accessories is currently up for auction at Blum’s Auction House, located at 501 Schuylkill Mall Road
Nice Figure! on page 5
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Canova’s “George Washington”
Ocean Liner Memorabilia Earns Top Honors At Weiss Auctions on page 9
Exhibition To Address Canova’s Only Work Created For America In 1816, the North Carolina State House in Raleigh commissioned a full-length statue of George Washington to stand in the hall of the State Senate. Thomas Jefferson, believing that no American sculptor was up to the task, recommended Antonio Canova (1757–1822), then one of Europe’s most celebrated artists. The first and only work Canova created for America, the statue depicted the nation’s first president in ancient Roman garb, per Jefferson’s urging, drafting his farewell address to the states. It was unveiled to great acclaim in 1821, and people traveled from far and wide to see it. Tragically, only a decade later, a fire swept through the State House, reducing the statue to just a few charred fragments. Canova’s “George Washington” examines the history of the artist’s lost masterpiece, probably the least well known of his public monuments. It brings together for the first time Canova’s full-sized preparatory plaster model (which has never left Italy), four preparatory sketches for the sculpture, and related engravings and drawings. The exhibition also includes Thomas Lawrence’s 1816 oil portrait of Canova, which, like the model and several sketches, will be on loan from the Gypsotheca e Museo Antonio Canova in Possagno, Italy, the birthplace of the artist. The exhibition is organized by
Frank And Virginia Williams Gift Extraordinary Lincoln And Civil War Collection on page 10
Antonio Canova’s “George Washington,” gesso (preparatory plaster model), 1818, courtesy of the Gypsotheca e Museo Antonio Canova, Possagno, Italy. Photo by Fabio Zonta. Xavier F. Salomon, The Frick Collection’s Peter Jay Sharp chief curator, in collaboration with Mario Guderzo, director of the Gypsotheca e Museo Antonio Canova, the Venice International Foundation, and Friends of Venice Italy Inc. Following its presentation at the Frick, which comes to an end on Saturday, Sept. 23, the exhibition will be shown in Italy at the Gypsotheca e Museo Antonio Canova in Possagno, Italy. For more information, visit www.frick.org.
Quimper Club International To Hold Annual Meeting Oct. 7 on page 14
In This Issue SHOPS, SHOWS & MARKETS . . . . . . . . . . starting on page 3 SHOPS DIRECTORY . . . . . . . . . on page 6 EVENT & AUCTION CALENDAR . on page 7 AUCTION SALE BILLS . . . starting on page 7
FEATURED SHOW: Hunting And Fishing Show And Sale - August 12 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania - Page 4
AUCTIONEER DIRECTORY . . . . . on page 8 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . on page 15